I always start coaching with the scariest question “What do you do?” (which is similar to the interview question, “walk me through your resume”). It is a set-up question. Which, as simple as it is, throws us off. It makes us uncomfortable. But, if well-thought through, authentic and well-practiced, will be a short and impactful career story. Many of us blow it. We either lead with our name, title and company name (boring!!!) or we drone on and on about our passions,
You spent hours on your CV, targeted the right employers and positions, tackled the dreaded cover letter, and made it through the initial screening process. Then you landed the interview — congratulations! With sustainability jobs in high demand (most hiring managers receive an average of 200 applications per role) this is quite an accomplishment. You are getting close to the finish line but still need to give a great interview before you land your dream job. Before any interview (and
An organization in the U.S. is teaching kids character. Yes, really. They’ve developed an educational framework for schools that supports the “social, emotional and ethical development of students.” Or, as Daniel Goleman would term it: emotional intelligence. Now that’s just core character if I have ever heard it! Sounds odd though, right? When I was at school the idea of teaching character would have been laughed out of the classroom. Character was something that we were expected to acquire over time
No matter what your university career advisor told you, your resume or CV is most definitely not about you. It’s a marketing tool. Therefore, it should be all about the market: appealing to the hiring manager, meeting the company’s needs, using the organization’s language, communicating what your audience wants to hear. A CV that goes into every tiny detail of your entire career history is absolutely not what a hiring manager wants to read. You have to do the screening
Ever wonder why that recruiter you are working with is not actually getting you a job? Sorry for the disappointing news but recruiters work for companies, not candidates. Think about it. Who is paying them? What’s more, they don’t usually have time to do the market research and networking for each individual candidate to help them “get a job.” It doesn’t matter that you are a lovely person with a marketable skill-set; if you don’t fit the exact requirements for
Last month, I led a fascinating Net Impact café style workshop along with three other sustainability leaders. Today, I’m going to introduce you to my fellow panelists, each of whom has taken a very different route into their sustainability career. If you’re looking for inspiration, take a minute to read their stories.
Millennials are the 21st Century’s great hope – and they’ve got a lot to teach us about social innovation. But to get them on board business has to speak their language.
You’re at a leading industry conference getting a free-trade banana from the display of otherwise fattening snacks, and looking around to catch eyes with someone and “network”. Ahhhh! All of a sudden you see your dream boss, your top influencer. You brave it, walk over, introduce yourself and they are engaged. They ask you simply, “So, what do you DO?” Your heart rate goes up, you start to fidgit, and then…freeze. It seems like such a simple question (like the
Many people make friendly chitchat in everyday life, but develop a phobia of meeting new people when they find themselves in a professional situation. The mere thought of standing alone at an event surrounded by potential employers, clients or contacts has them breaking out in a cold sweat. They’ve forgotten that all networking is basically making new friends, and that it can be fun as well as strategic, although it takes practice. If you’re looking to make a career move
Today I’m drilling down on a specific part of the CV puzzle: accomplishment statements. What they are, why they work, and how to write them to help land your dream sustainability job. In my various professional incarnations — hiring manager, entrepreneur, corporate social responsibility (CSR) corporate consultant, impact career coach, to name but a few — I’ve seen more CVs than you’ve seen job adverts. The candidates that stand out are the ones that use the ‘career history’ section to
